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Obama authorizes more U.S. troops to Iraq

U.S. President Barack Obama authorizes U.S. military to deploy up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq as part of mission to combat Islamic State militants.

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President Barack Obama has authorized the deployment of up to 1,500 more U.S. troops for Iraq, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said.(Reuters - News Video Online)

By Lolita C. BaldorThe Associated Press

Fri., Nov. 7, 2014

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama authorized a broad expansion on Friday of the U.S. military mission in Iraq that will boost the total number of American troops there to about 3,100 and spread advisory teams and trainers to the north and west, where fighting with Islamic State militants has been fierce.

The president’s decision to escalate the U.S. effort in Iraq comes just three days after a bruising American election and amid persistent arguments that more U.S. troops are needed to bolster the struggling Iraqi forces. In particular, there have been calls to send troops to the western Anbar province, where extremists have been slaughtering men, women and children.

Obama authorized the Pentagon to send 1,500 troops to Iraq in addition to the 1,600 previously allowed. He also is asking Congress for more than $5 billion to fund the fight.

Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said the military will set up several training sites across Iraq to instruct 12 Iraqi brigades, and also establish two operations centres where small advisory teams can work with Iraqi forces at the headquarters and brigade levels.

A senior military official said one of those centres will be in Anbar province, and that it is likely that the bulk of the additional troops will be in Iraq by the end of the year. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

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U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media before a meeting with his cabinet members in Washington on Friday. A senior military official says American military advisory teams will now go to Iraq’s western Anbar province, where Islamic State militants have been gaining ground. (Evan Vucci / The Associated Press)

Kirby said the new changes were based on a request from the Iraqi officials, the assessment of military commanders on the progress that Iraq’s military has made in the fight, and as part of a campaign plan “to defend key areas and go on the offensive” against the Islamic State.

The U.S. troops will not be in combat roles but will do the training in protected locations around the country. Until now, U.S. troops have largely been confined to Baghdad and Irbil, including two operations centres in those cities.

The funding announcement is part of a $5.6-billion request to Congress and came just after Obama met with congressional leaders Friday. That funding would cover the overseas military operations and other military equipment and requirements to combat the Islamic State group militants, who have seized control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. has been launching airstrikes on Islamic State group militants and facilities in Iraq and Syria for weeks, as part of an effort to give Iraqi forces the time and space to mount a more effective offensive. Early on, the Islamic State group gained ground across Iraq, as local Iraqi units threw down their weapons and fled or joined the insurgents.

Lately, however, with the aid of the U.S. strikes, the Islamic State has suffered a number of losses in Iraq, where it is fighting government forces, peshmerga and Shiite militias aided by Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

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